The Phoenix Suns travel to Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
The Suns (19-27) enter this matchup losing three of their last four games and they're losing ground on the eight-seed in the west. The team that they need to catch is the Memphis Grizzlies, who own a 22-24 record. That means that they can catch them with a winning streak but this team hasn't shown that they can maintain one of those this season. What makes that really frustrating is the fact that this club can match up with anyone in terms of talent. DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker are one of the best duos in the NBA while Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre Jr are valuable pieces in their own right. That makes them one of the most dangerous teams but we need to start seeing results rather than playing the on-paper game.
The Mavericks (29-17) have been a strange club this season, performing better on the road than at home. That's something you rarely see from an NBA team and it's hard to understand why when looking at this club's record. What's made them so good is their offense, ranked first in the NBA in offensive efficiency. That's truly amazing to be ahead of teams like the Lakers and Bucks, showing just how special the conductor is. Luka Doncic happens to be the guy holding the baton and it's incredible what this 20-year-old is doing this season. He leads the team with 29 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game which has him in MVP discussions as well. It's hard to believe that someone who's 20-years-old is doing that but it's even scarier to think that he's only going to get better as he develops.
Dallas won the first meeting between these teams, 120-113, on November 29. That gave the Mavs three-straight wins over the Suns, despite the fact that Phoenix won the previous seven games over Dallas before that.